In one of the more balanced pieces in the British Medical Journal's otherwise disparaging look at the perils of criticizing Israel, Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland offers a few tips for those who want to wade in the deep waters of the Middle East conflict without suffering waves of complaints.
1. "To start with, it is wise to aim for total accuracy" – While accuracy should serve as a hallmark for any piece of writing, it is particularly important in the contentious and emotion-filled conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The fact that this should have to be pointed out, however, should serve as a warning in itself.
2. "It also helps, when writing in this area, at least to acknowledge that suffering is not the exclusive domain of one side." – In other word, a story that focuses on the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and ignores the context of Hamas missiles on Israeli civilians will always raise flags.
3. "It is wise to avoid lapsing into language or imagery loaded with historically ugly associations." – Freedland himself brings two excellent illustrations. He discusses terms such as "sinister outsiders" – ie Jews, invoked by Michael O’Donnell, one of the other writers in the same publication. He also criticizes writers such as Karl Sabbagh, who hint at Jewish plots to suppress criticism of Israel.
The suggestion that runs through both Sabbagh’s and O’Donnell’s papers—that Israel’s supporters, mainly Jews, have organised a stealthy, but powerful plot to pull the strings of the media—has an equally unhappy history. That O’Donnell then calls as a witness Richard Ingrams, a journalist who once boasted in print that he no longer reads letters supporting Israel from anyone with a "Jewish name," does not improve matters
